Once again, Mo Duan’s spiritual sense was proving to be the most useful part of being a high-level cultivator. Even as he was sitting in the waiting room of the Mystic Flora Merchant’s headquarters, he could still watch his disciples within the Ling Clan compound spar against the mercenaries he had hired.

Ling Gengxin had agreed to temporarily make an exception for Mo Duan in the Ling compound formations that blocked the use of spiritual sense in the courtyard they used for training. Otherwise, Mo Duan wouldn’t have been able to continue watching over his disciples while he went about his business.

Strangely, Mo Duan was forced to wait for a meeting for a second time, but he was fairly certain that the head of the merchants wasn’t making any kind of power play as the Ling Patriarch had been. At least, that was the impression he was getting from the flustered man who was wearing the insignia of the Mystic Flora Merchants and hustling back to their headquarters as quickly as he could.

The Ling Clan had informed them that Mo Duan would eventually be coming to visit them, but he had decided to spend a few days investigating the wandering cultivators he had purchased information about instead of heading directly to the Mystic Flora Merchants. It wasn’t unreasonable that the group’s leader would step out if there was an emergency instead of uselessly waiting for him all day.

While most people in this world lacked the ability to reach very far in cultivation, it was in the Celestial Jade Empire’s interest to make cultivation as accessible as possible to its citizens. Very few people reached the Foundation Establishment realm, but there had actually been a fairly large number of Qi Condensation wandering cultivators for Mo Duan to look through.

Someone who looked at the empire on only a surface level might think they would prefer to hoard knowledge of cultivation, but that would have been extremely foolish of them. Cultivators lived longer, were more productive, and could help protect mortals from spiritual beasts. Thus, the Empire could utilize more of its territory if more of its citizens practiced some cultivation than it otherwise could.

After evaluating all of his options, Mo Duan had eventually chosen to hire two different wandering cultivators. One was at the third stage of Qi Condensation and another was at the seventh stage.

This was definitely a good idea, Mo Duan mused to himself as he continued to watch his disciples. They’re already starting to realize how unprepared they are.

Even fighting together, Xiao Li and Xue Chenying were unable to defeat the experienced cultivator that Mo Duan had hired to fight them. Jiang Zhen had spent many years as a wandering cultivator before spending another decade as a guardsman for Emerald Forest City and then retiring once age began to creep up on him.

Despite having similar physical capabilities to Mo Duan’s two disciples, Jiang Zhen’s wealth of experience in real combat allowed him to manhandle both Xiao Li and Xue Chenying at the same time. Still, they were both highly motivated to grow stronger and Mo Duan could already notice improvements in their tactics and skills. It helped that Jiang Zhen was constantly correcting their forms even as he continued to knock them both to the ground.

The difference between Mo Duan’s three younger disciples and their opponent was not nearly wide enough for the wandering cultivator to fight them all simultaneously, but it was still noticeable.

Lan Fen was a middle-aged man with barely any talent for cultivation, which was probably why he had never surpassed the third stage of Qi Condensation. Despite this, he still had a lot of combat experience. The man was a hunter turned mercenary who had managed to hone his instincts to an impressive degree and wasn’t afraid to use any dirty trick he could against his opponents. Ling Jun was the closest to actually defeating the hunter so far, but he had lost more once when Lan Fen either goaded him with taunts or surprised him with a concealed weapon.

Such tactics would be permitted during the Verdant Valley Sect’s tournament, so Mo Duan was pleased that his disciples would get a chance to experience them beforehand.

Mo Duan hadn’t expected that he would need to separate from his disciples so quickly, but he obviously couldn’t take them along while he was hunting Mei Yujia. Having a bunch of children following him while he was going after a Core Formation demonic cultivator would be… irresponsible, to say the least.

Therefore, it was a relief to see that they would have the tools they needed to grow while he was gone. The Ling Clan had enough influence to protect them and there wasn’t even any reason for anyone to go after Mo Duan’s disciples in the first place.

“Elder Mo? Manager Lao is ready to see you now.”

Mo Duan turned his attention back to his immediate surroundings as a nervous young clerk called out to him. The flustered merchant had indeed returned and was currently straightening his robes and doing his best to make himself presentable in his office. The Mystic Flora Merchants had a few formations designed to protect against spiritual sense, but they were far weaker than those in the Ling Clan and couldn’t stand up to Mo Duan’s abilities.

After thanking the clerk, he got up from his seat and left the waiting room reserved for high-status guests without another word. Mo Duan ignored the clerk’s unnerved expression as he walked by him. Although he had long since noticed that people were unsettled whenever he did things like thank servants or acted too politely, Mo Duan had no intention of changing his behavior.

He had already lost everything from his old life when he came to this world. Mo Duan was already forced to act colder than he actually was in order to avoid presenting himself too differently from his predecessor. He hoped that he would be able to gradually change that perception, but Mo Duan had no intention of altering his behavior any more than absolutely necessary.

Besides, what was the point of being a powerful person if he couldn’t even eschew a few social norms?

Mo Duan wasn’t naive enough to believe that this world wouldn’t change him, but he was determined not to lose sight of who he was.

That’s why when he finally made his way to the office of the merchant who had kept him waiting, Mo Duan didn’t angrily berate the man or throw a fit as most powerful cultivators might have done. Instead, he merely nodded politely to the merchant and greeted him with a neutral tone.

“Good evening, Manager Lao. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today,” said Mo Duan, holding back a chuckle at the elderly merchant’s befuddled expression.

According to the information provided to him by the Crimson Lotus Union, Lao Yushan was a self-made man who had built the Mystic Flora Merchants from the ground up. The old man had a good head for business and knew more about the spiritual plant market than anyone else in the city.

Mo Duan examined the merchant’s cultivation and found that he had barely managed to reach the Foundation Establishment realm, which wasn’t bad considering he hadn’t been born in a clan or joined a sect.

“Of course, Elder Mo,” said Manager Lao, composing himself quickly and bowing deeply to Mo Duan in respect. “I apologize deeply for the wait. I had an important meeting that I needed to attend, and found myself on the other side of the city when you arrived at our headquarters.”

“There’s no need for explanations, Manager Lao. I understand perfectly how busy a man in your position typically is,” said Mo Duan as he glanced in interest around the merchant’s office.

The room was meticulously well-furnished with tasteful decor and rare spiritual plants, a few of which Mo Duan had never seen before. He could tell that none of them were dangerous, and they did much to liven up the merchant’s office in a way that he found pleasant.

“Is that a Radiant Sun Blossom?” Mo Duan asked with surprise as he gestured toward a vibrant yellow flower that was emitting a warm gentle glow throughout the room. “I was under the impression that those were rather delicate and could only grow in areas of concentrated Yang energy while being directly exposed to the sun. How did you manage to keep it alive indoors and in a room with such neutral Qi?”

Manager Lao’s eyes lit up with pleasure and he immediately began explaining. “Oh, it’s not well known but there’s actually a spiritual beast that pairs quite well with the Radiant Sun Blossom. The beast is called a Yang Seeking Worm. It absorbs the Yang energy emitted by the flower and leaves behind special Qi-infused nutrients in the soil that allows the flower to grow healthily, even in Yang deficient areas.”

“That sounds very useful,” said Mo Duan, genuinely impressed. “I didn’t think people would use spiritual beasts as a means to grow spiritual plants.”

Although he didn’t know much about raising spiritual beasts, he did know they were generally a logistical nightmare to take care of and keep under control.

“Oh, doing so isn’t usually very profitable, but I feel like it’s worth the effort in this case,” said Manager Lao, smiling as he glanced at the Radiant Sun Blossom before turning back to Mo Duan. “But I’m sure that you have more important things to do than listen to an old man ramble about plants. The Ling Clan informed me that you wish to enter the Spiritual Plant business. Is that correct, Elder Mo?”

“It is,” said Mo Duan as he took a seat in a chair placed across from Manager Lao’s desk. “I’ve been told that you’re very knowledgeable about these matters and I believe it would be in both of our best interests to cooperate. Your institutional knowledge and resources would be very useful to me, and I’m quite sure the Mystic Flora Merchants would benefit from my aid as well.”

“Then, are you willing to offer us your protection and allow us to make use of your name, Elder Mo?” asked Manager Lao as he took a seat himself, voice growing serious now that they were talking business. “I’ll admit, there have been a few occasions over the years where such help would have been welcome.”

“If we are to enter a business relationship, then I am willing to offer you my protection,” Mo Duan easily confirmed. Given that he would be relying heavily on their help to make a profit, it was entirely in his interests to protect the Mystic Flora Merchants. “Naturally, this assumes that your organization isn’t offending anyone that they shouldn’t.”

If they intended to start antagonizing Nascent Soul cultivators, then Mo Duan would obviously disavow them and look the other way.

“Of course not, Elder. The Mystic Flora Merchants know what kind of behavior is and isn’t appropriate,” Manager Lao hastily reassured before retrieving a jade slip from his spatial ring. “Patriarch Ling informed me that you wished to ask which spiritual plants would be the most profitable to grow given your unique circumstances. I took the liberty of compiling a list and providing justifications for why these would be the best choices for your valley.”

Mo Duan took the jade slip and resolved to thoroughly look through the information provided to him because the number of spirit stones that could be generated by Tranquil Garden Valley would have a drastic effect on his plans for the future.

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After thoroughly studying the options given to him by Manager Lao, Mo Duan considered his options and decided to ask a few clarifying questions.

“I can see that you’ve highly recommended the Spirit Nurturing Grass due to its ability to nurture the soil of my valley and assist the growth of other spiritual plants, but wouldn’t it be rather… unprofitable?” Mo Duan asked dubiously.

Although the Spirit Nurturing Grass would help the rest of his valley, it didn’t have any other useful properties that would allow him to sell it for a good price as far as he could tell.

“Actually, Spirit Nurturing Grass is one of the more reliable sources of profit that you could choose,” said Manager Lao, much to Mo Duan’s surprise. “While most people don’t know this, it is extensively used as food for spiritual beasts by those who rear them and demand for the grass is constant. Not only that, but it is far easier to take care of than most spiritual plants. I highly recommend it if you wish for your valley to have a stable income throughout the year.”

Mo Duan thought over the merchant’s arguments and found himself convinced. Many spiritual plants had harvests that were measured in years or decades while others carried the risk of suddenly dying if they weren’t properly handled. A reliable source of revenue would be welcome. Besides, there were also some spiritual plants that Manager Lao only recommended if Mo Duan was also growing the Spirit Nurturing Grass.

After studying the information provided for several more minutes, Mo Duan made his choices.

“I believe it would be best for my valley to grow Spirit Nurturing Grass, Heartwood Trees, Starlight Bamboo, and Celestial Dewfruit,” Mo Duan declared.

He would have chosen more, but he needed to leave some room for any unique spiritual plants from the Secret Realm that Mo Duan could get his hands on. After all, his disciples didn’t have an endless amount of time to learn how to care for too many different varieties.

“Oh? I can see that you are a man who values your disciples very highly, Elder Mo. Your virtue is worthy of praise,” said Manager Lao, smiling toward him with approval.

Mo Duan merely nodded to the merchant in recognition of the compliment.

Not only did Starlight Bamboo make for excellent material when crafting high-quality spiritual tools, but it would also emit a sense of peace throughout Tranquil Garden Valley once it matured. This would make it easier for Mo Duan’s disciples to cultivate and benefit them all greatly.

The Heartwood Trees produced a rare wood that was used in the construction of buildings that required materials capable of holding large amounts of Qi while also being very sturdy. This would allow Mo Duan to make a good profit while also cheaply upgrading the facilities of his valley whenever it became necessary.

As for the Celestial Dewfruit, it was by far the most valuable of the spiritual plants he had chosen and would probably be their largest source of profit. Consuming the fruit would not only greatly help with a person's cultivation, but it would also nourish and strengthen their body. It was also said to be very delicious, and it wasn’t uncommon for wealthy mortals to pay exorbitant prices just to eat them.

The only downside was that the Celestial Dewfruit was significantly more difficult to grow than any other plant on the list due to being rather particular about its needs. The plant required near-constant supervision while growing and could look perfectly fine one day before dying the next. Mo Duan was only confident enough to choose it because his high level of cultivation meant that he would be able to consistently watch them with his spiritual sense.

“If you have made your choice, then I will make the necessary arrangements to supply your valley with the seeds and young saplings that you will need to get started,” said Manager Lao. “I will also provide you with detailed methods for caring for each plant.”

“Will the choice of these spiritual plants bring my valley into competition with any of the local powers?” Mo Duan asked.

“It shouldn’t. The Ling Clan will be purchasing your Starlight Bamboo as they own all of the spiritual tool stores in the city and the Celestial Dew Fruit are always in high demand,” Manager Lao responded, his expression growing thoughtful. “The Heartwood could bring you into conflict with the Azure Serpent Merchant Alliance at some point, but only if your valley succeeds in producing a truly significant amount of the material. I considered this matter when choosing these particular spiritual plants.”

Mo Duan was glad to hear it. He already had enough problems without starting some kind of trade war that would take up all of his time.

“And how many spirit stones do you believe my valley should be able to earn with this combination of spiritual plants?” Mo Duan asked while doing his best to hide his eagerness.

Manager Lao considered the questions for a moment before responding. “The Ling Clan provided me with an estimate of the amount of arable land in your valley and its Qi density, so I can actually provide you with a reasonably accurate appraisal. I would say that you could likely produce slightly more than three hundred mid-grade spirit stones annually, at least to begin with. I expect that number to increase significantly as time goes on. The Spirit Nurturing Grass should gradually improve the soil in your valley and your disciples will grow more skilled in maintaining the spiritual plants.”

Mo Duan could feel his eyes widen slightly at the merchant’s words before he got his expression back under control. Even as powerful as he was, that was many times more than he would have ever been able to make annually as a wandering cultivator. Having such resources would make his future plans much easier.

If Mo Duan truly wanted to abandon the path of demonic cultivation, then modifying his bloodvines with the Woodland Dominion Method would only get him a part of the way there. The rest of the process would require significant resources.

It was a bit difficult to explain what ‘Demonic Qi’ truly was because the term was both a political one and a very real phenomenon. Many cultivators labeled anyone who practiced what they considered to be immoral or evil cultivation methods to be demonic cultivators, but there were also several concrete differences between the different methods.

When a righteous cultivator pulled Qi into their meridians for the purpose of cultivation, they went through the laborious process of meticulously filtering out the various impurities that could be found in all ambient Qi. These impurities were produced by things like negative emotions, malicious intent, or even the violent and painful deaths of living beings.

It wasn’t a coincidence that righteous sects chose to build themselves around locations that promoted peace and serenity, while demonic sects flocked to places where extreme violence historically occurred.

This purifying process was one that took a significant amount of effort, which was why demonic cultivation was so popular among those who valued raw power and quick progression. Demonic cultivators skipped the purifying process and allowed these impurities to infuse their cultivation, which led to quick progress but came with a host of side effects. The most prominent issue was that demonic Qi tended to cause instability in a cultivator’s mind, leading to emotional extremes and a leaning toward violent behavior.

Most demonic sects used various clever ways to get around these side effects while still enjoying the fast progression of demonic cultivation. For example, the sect that Mo Duan’s predecessor had come from designed their cultivation method in such a way that the costs of demonic cultivation were offloaded into the plants that lived inside of them. Thanks to this, Mo Duan could remain relatively unaffected by the influences of his demonic cultivation while his bloodvines became increasingly sadistic and cruel.

Whenever he snuck off into the Vanishing Mist Woods and woke up his bloodvines, Mo Duan could feel their eagerness to cause pain and torture whatever spiritual beast he decided to feed to them.

It was more than a little unsettling.

If Mo Duan ever reached the Nascent Soul realm without first purifying the bloodvines within himself, then they would most likely become sapient and constantly demand acts of cruelty to keep them satisfied. That might have been an acceptable outcome for his predecessor, but it wasn’t for him.

However, this left Mo Duan with a rather difficult challenge if he intended to become a righteous cultivator. His entire system was designed to process demonic Qi, and he completely lacked the ability to purify Qi well enough in order to reconstruct his cultivation base. When most Foundation Establishment righteous cultivators were in the process of constructing their Golden Core so they could reach the next realm of cultivation, they usually formed their cores with the ability to purify Qi in an extremely efficient manner.

Purification was typically done by the spirit root up to that point, but further realms required massive amounts of Qi with as few impurities as possible. Mo Duan’s Golden Core was designed with a different function in mind and focused purely on producing immense amounts of wood Qi that gave him a sizable advantage during combat, which meant his core couldn’t purify Qi at all.

Mo Duan’s current plan to become a righteous cultivator was to first weaken his bloodvines, and then use the Woodland Dominion Method to convert their Qi stealing ability to one that allowed them to purify Qi. After that was done, he would need to go into secluded cultivation and completely redesign his cultivation system so that it worked with purified Qi.

Doing so would require extremely rare medicines and resources that could stabilize his cultivation as he underwent this transformation, which would require many spirit stones.

All of that was to say that Mo Duan very much needed Tranquil Garden Valley to become profitable, and three hundred mid-grade spirit stones would make his life much easier.

I guess that shows why people fight so much over Qi-rich lands…

Over the next hour, Mo Duan diligently went over the details of their cooperation agreement. They talked about a variety of topics such as shipping routes, the most profitable seasons to sell the goods, and potential risks. Manager Lao had a wealth of experience and freely offered advice on how Mo Duan should best utilize his disciples for tending to the spiritual plants.

Mo Duan found the merchant to be surprisingly easy to speak to. He was sharp, as was to be expected from anyone in his position, but also surprisingly earnest and passionate about spiritual plants. Eventually, Mo Duan decided to move the conversation to a topic he had been intending to ask the merchant since before he arrived.

“Manager Lao, I assume that you’re very familiar with the distribution of the region’s Qi?” Mo Duan asked. “Knowing where to find concentrations of various kinds of Qi would be invaluable for locating unique spiritual plants.”

“That is indeed the case, Elder Mo,” Manager Lao affably confirmed. “Is there something specific that you’re searching for?”

“I would like to know whether there are any concentrations of potent Yin Qi in the area around Misty Lake City. I know that the city is a hub for medicine and alchemy, so this seems like a topic that you would be familiar with,” Mo Duan asked calmly.

Unsurprisingly, Manager Lao’s smile immediately dimmed at the question. Yin Qi was associated with many attributes, such as femininity or the moon. However, in the context of Yin that could be found in the environment, that was much more likely to be found in places that were naturally dark or haunted by ghosts. It wasn’t typically something that people talked about during a polite conversation.

Manager Lao looked as if he wanted to question him, but he soon thought better of it. “If you’re looking for an area of concentrated Yin around Misty Lake City, there is only one place that comes to mind. There is a complex cavern system located in the hills to the west of the city which contains a natural font of Yin Qi. Most people have little reason to go there as the caverns are filled with powerful spiritual beasts, but there are several unique spiritual plants that grow there as well.”

That sounds like the perfect place for someone like Mei Yujia…

The Cursed Inscription Sect relied on a combination of demonic and Yin Qi to create their talismans, and she would benefit a lot from a place like that. Not only was it readily defensible and had a direct source of Yin Qi, but it was also close enough to a populated city for her to easily capture people and turn them into Jiangshi.

Mo Duan wasn’t quite certain why Mei Yujia was doing something so conspicuous while her former sect was hunting her, but she obviously didn’t intend to stop. Jiangshi had been continuously appearing ever since she arrived and her talismans were only growing in sophistication.

Mei Yujia was almost certainly aware that she could be connected to Yin-rich caverns if anyone was familiar with her background. Since that was the case, she was probably prepared for someone to come for her at any moment. Mo Duan had no doubt that those caverns were already filled with traps and numerous Jiangshi.

This isn’t going to be easy.

Mo Duan thanked Manager Lao for the information and felt relieved when the merchant did not ask any questions and moved on. He had an explanation prepared, but Mo Duan would prefer to retrieve the information that he needed from Mei Yujia before deciding what story he told others. Although given that the Patriarch would know of his movements, it would probably have to be something close to the truth.

The two of them continued to talk for several minutes until Mo Duan decided it was time to leave. After going through the necessary pleasantries and wishing well on their future partnership, Manager Lao bowed deeply to him and personally escorted him out of their headquarters.

As soon as he was alone, Mo Duan quickly extended his spiritual sense back over his disciples and began to plan. He had no idea how long Mei Yujia would stay in the same place or if her sect was close to capturing her, so he needed to make his move quickly.